I am not going to lie, my eyes glaze over whenever I see the word Project sitting next to the word Life.

I remember seeing something about it a few months ago, stumbling over to Becky Higgins' blog, reading for a few minutes and quickly leaving it in the dust behind me because I don't like that sort of hybrid project. I don't enjoy printing out my photos until I'm doing my bound books every 100 layouts or so. I don't enjoy buying paper products and writing on things.

However, today I took my 7th photo for P365 and I went to scrap my first week's page.

I had already decided I wanted to use a digital product that looks like those sleeve protectors.

But...

and PLEASE forgive my ignorance here...

If I put one of those digital page protectors over a paper and plug in photos and journaling, am I not really doing a digital version of Project Life?

I'm not sure how I feel about that. I mean, it's all semantics really, but I guess I am just taken aback. I didn't realize the similarities.

Can someone explain it to me like I'm stupid, and do a really dumbed-down compare and contrast between the two?

wishingwellcreations

01-08-2012, 12:37 AM

I guess I view them as 2 different ways to achieve the same thing... with P365 being stricter about the whole "photo-a-day" thing. Here's my take on each (or my "definition/explanation" of each), in my own words... and hmm, it may or may not be entirely accurate, but whatever -- it's the way I view each:

P365 -- I did this in 2011. You take a photo every day of the year, and then scrap them (in whatever way you like) so that you have a visual documentation of those 365 photos. For instance, I used a calendar template in 2011 (here is an example of how 1mo of my P365 project from 2011 looked (http://www.thedigichick.com/forums/showthread.php?36810-Memory-Keeping-Confusion&p=426812&viewfull=1#post426812)), so that's how I scrapped mine. But you could choose to scrap it any way you want. Honestly, you could use the Project Life system to scrap a P365 project... KWIM?

Project Life -- It's more of a system of scrapping than an actual "scrap project", in my opinion anyway. The idea is that you use the pocketed page protectors to quickly slide in your photos, along w/ some journaling cards, so you can quickly document the "everyday stuff" in your life that wouldn't otherwise always warrant a layout on its very own. It's supposed to be quick and easy. To do it digitally, you'd just use templates (or lay pages out yourself) that allow you to do the same thing: quickly/easily scrap your photos w/ some journaling, to record your "everyday moments". Like I said above, I think you could do Project Life as a P365 -- w/ a photo everyday... or... you could do it with a layout per week (no restriction on # of photos, or when they're taken) ...or... you could do a layout a month... whatever works for you. I think Project Life is a more flexible overall idea, whereas P365 is more stringent about the photo-taking.

OK, so that's my view.

Anyone else? I'm always curious to see how we all interpret these sorts of things differently from each other! :grin:

nicoleseitler

01-08-2012, 01:19 AM

I'd say that's pretty perfect!

juliesouthern

01-08-2012, 01:21 AM

I agree, I think 365 is more literal, and less forgiving, LOL. Since I've never made it past February, Im going to go out on a limb and say "this is not for me."

Project Life technically is the plastic page protector system, but to me it's really just simplification. I love Sinead's take - a few photos, journaling, in a pleasing template with nice papers to accent. No worries about clustering or artful arrangement or creating a mood or feeling, which are fun things but time consuming. So in my head, Project Life is translating to sort of a modular simplicity encompassing daily life.

I think. Tomorrow I may have a totally different conclusion.

sinead

01-08-2012, 01:54 AM

Lol Julie! (and thanks!)

Lena, in my mind, you can combine the two. Add your pics (but for this, you can have more than one pic a day if you couldn't stop shooting or thre were more things you wanted to record) and then add some journaling or labeLs or whatever fits. Easy peasy.

chloe

01-08-2012, 04:07 AM

I completed a P365 last year and, if I follow Laura's definitions (that I love, BTW!!), it was more of a PL thing: I scrapped one photo per day even though it was sometimes not from that day, and I created the template I used all year long for my weekly LOs (you can see an example here (http://www.thedigichick.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=140575&title=week-47&cat=500)). I failed twice before and both elements (using templates and giving myself permission to "cheat") were hugely important in succeeding this time: they made it just as "quick and easy" as the PL system.

BTW, I'm doing P365 this year too and I'm definitely not as satisfied with my template as I was with last year's, it's way more complicated and I'm afraid it will stop me from using it. I'm seriously considering re-using the 2011 template. Just changing the papers and pictures brings enough variety to my taste, I can be creative in my other LOs, those P365 pages are all about getting my everyday life recorded, not about the crazy fun design.

michellebatton

01-08-2012, 11:55 AM

This is my two cents, but the way that I view it is that P365 is about capturing each and every day, PL is about capturing the everyday moments. "Every day" is a whole different thing than "everyday"....

If you look at it that way, PL does not have to be a P365 :D Kudos to the folks who want it to be and have the time and energy to make it be....but 365 just isn't going to work for me LOL I don't want to be forced into a daily/weekly/monthly schedule. I'd want PL to be natural :D

judet

01-08-2012, 12:06 PM

Agreed, Project Life gives me more freedom than P365. Some days not much scrap/photoworthy happens, some days lots. I'm not even sticking to one spread per week, sometimes it'll be a day or two, sometimes a fortnight. Just depends on what's going on at the time.

nicoleseitler

01-08-2012, 04:06 PM

"Every day" is a whole different thing than "everyday"...

That is wonderful. Thanks for putting it like that. You just lowered my stress by HALF. :lol:

michellebatton

01-08-2012, 07:32 PM

That is wonderful. Thanks for putting it like that. You just lowered my stress by HALF. :lol:

LOL glad I could help!

juliesouthern

01-08-2012, 11:23 PM

That is wonderful. Thanks for putting it like that. You just lowered my stress by HALF. :lol:

yeah, it's crazy what "every single freaking day" can do to your head if any molecule in your body is a perfectionist, isn't it?

nicoleseitler

01-08-2012, 11:49 PM

YES! :blink:

Sigh...

ccouch

01-09-2012, 12:23 AM

I really love that, too, Michelle! I already had that mindset, but not the precise words for it! This week, the very first week of this endeavor, I didn't take a photo every single day, but there's a lot of the everyday and a lot of fun stuff for my first weekly spread. No stress, baby!!

Trista

01-09-2012, 12:54 AM

I am with everyone else... no stress! I like the flexibility of PL! ;)